Western Mining's revenue and net profit in Q4 2025 both declined quarter-over-quarter; investors are concerned that the third phase of Yulong Copper Mine is expected to complete infrastructure construction by the end of this year.

Daily Economic News Reporter | Xu Shuai Daily Economic News Editor | Wei Guanhong

On the evening of March 25, Western Mining (SH601168, stock price 26.42 yuan, market value 62.96B yuan), a top-performing stock last year, disclosed its 2025 annual report.

The company achieved an operating revenue of 61.69B yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 23%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 3.64B yuan, up 24%. However, from a quarterly perspective, in the fourth quarter of 2025, operating revenue was 13.24B yuan, a decrease of 21.3% quarter-on-quarter; net profit attributable to the parent was 697 million yuan, down 35.2% quarter-on-quarter.

The annual report disclosed that the third phase of the Yulong Copper Mine project, which investors have been paying attention to, was approved in June 2025, with infrastructure expected to be completed by the end of 2026. After completion, ore processing capacity will increase from 22.8 million tons per year to 30 million tons per year.

Data shows that the company achieved an operating revenue of 61.69B yuan in 2025, a 23% increase year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.64B yuan, up 24%. The company states that its main operating indicators reached record highs, and it has completed the goals of the “14th Five-Year Plan.”

Looking at quarterly performance, in Q4 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 13.24B yuan, down 21.3% from 16.82B yuan in Q3; net profit attributable to shareholders was 697 million yuan, down 35.2% from 1.08B yuan in Q3.

In 2025, the overall prosperity of the non-ferrous metals industry rebounded. The company’s annual report shows that the average copper price in 2025 was 83k yuan/ton, up 8.8% year-on-year; copper prices briefly surpassed 100k yuan/ton in the fourth quarter, reaching a high of 102.7k yuan/ton. The average zinc price was 22.8k yuan/ton, down 3.7% year-on-year; the average gold price was 808 yuan/gram, up 42.2% year-on-year; the average silver price was 10.6k yuan/kilogram, up 42%.

Regarding product revenue structure, copper products achieved revenue of 43.24 billion yuan, up 13.05% year-on-year, accounting for over 70% of total revenue, with a gross profit margin of 16.89%. Zinc products generated revenue of 83k yuan, up 24.55%, with a gross profit margin of 28.95%, an increase of 7.28 percentage points from the previous year. Gold ingots achieved revenue of 100k yuan, up 23 times, with a gross profit margin of 5.27%. Silver ingots achieved revenue of 102.7k yuan, up 9.5 times, with a gross profit margin of 9.51%.

Lead products achieved revenue of 2.37 billion yuan, up 146.48%, but gross profit margin decreased by 43.35 percentage points to 28.34%. Iron concentrates achieved revenue of 984 million yuan, down 4.07% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of 31.96%.

In terms of production volume, in 2025, the company produced 167.5k tons of mineral copper, 128.8k tons of mineral zinc, 63k tons of mineral lead, and 1.4053 million tons of iron concentrate; smelted 334.2k tons of copper, 154.1k tons of lead, and 152.1k tons of zinc. Some products did not meet the annual planned output, such as mineral lead and silver-bearing concentrates due to lower-than-planned ore processing volume and grade; iron concentrate due to lower ore processing volume; and smelting of copper, lead, and zinc due to planned shutdowns.

Regarding the progress of the third phase of the Yulong Copper Mine project, which investors are concerned about, the annual report disclosed that the project was approved in June 2025, with infrastructure expected to be completed by the end of 2026. After completion, the ore processing capacity of Yulong Copper Mine will increase from 22.8 million tons per year to 30 million tons per year.

In terms of resource reserves, in 2025, the Yulong Copper Mine added 1.3142 million tons of copper metal resources and 107.7k tons of molybdenum resources. As of the end of 2025, the copper reserve at Yulong Copper Mine was 1.2 billion tons, with an average grade of 0.49%.

For the Anhui Chating polymetallic mine, the company’s holding subsidiary Yulong Copper Industry acquired the exploration rights for the mine in 2025 for 22.8k yuan, with full payment made in January 2026 and exploration permit obtained; in February, the exploration license was acquired. In the salt lake chemical business, the company produced 147k tons of high-purity magnesium hydroxide raw powder in 2025, up 28% year-on-year.

For 2026, the company plans to produce 172k tons of mineral copper, 63.4k tons of mineral lead, 127.6k tons of mineral zinc, and 2.216 million tons of iron concentrate; smelt 324.4k tons of copper, 139.7k tons of lead, and 180.6k tons of zinc. The company’s operational targets are set at 58 billion yuan in operating revenue and 6 billion yuan in total profit.

Cover image source: Daily Economic News Media Library